Places to stay Explore our selections for island.
Hermitage Bay
HotelCaribbean
From $1,800
Hermitage Bay is a boutique all-inclusive resort on the west coast of Antigua, set in a secluded bay a short drive from St. John’s. Its 30 suites are spread across freestanding cottages, some right on the white-sand beach and others on the hillside behind, with private terraces, outdoor showers, deep soaking tubs and, in the hillside suites, plunge pools facing the sea. Meals change daily and draw on local ingredients, served in an open-air restaurant overlooking the water. Rates cover breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, cocktail hour and dinner with house wines, along with yoga, Pilates and meditation classes, non-motorized water sports and airport transfers, while the spa offers treatments at an extra cost.
Coral Sands Inn & Cottages
HotelCaribbean
From $1,030
Coral Sands Inn & Cottages sits directly on Pink Sand Beach on Harbour Island, a small island off Eleuthera in the Bahamas, a short walk from the colorful clapboard streets of Dunmore Town. Opened in 1968 by actor Brett King and his wife Sharon, it was recently redesigned in a playful, all-over pink that echoes the shore. Its 38 accommodations are divided into inn rooms, cottages and seaside homes, many with balconies over the water. Guests spend their days snorkeling, body boarding or lounging by the oceanfront pool, with two restaurants and a beach bar on site and a daily manager’s reception at sunset.
Southern Ocean Lodge
HotelOceania, Australia
From $2,200
Southern Ocean Lodge sits on the limestone cliffs above Hanson Bay, on the wild south-west coast of Kangaroo Island, a short flight from Adelaide. Destroyed by bushfire in 2020, it reopened in late 2023 under its original architect, Max Pritchard, with 23 suites strung along the coastline, a central Great Room and a new four-bedroom Ocean Pavilion. The lodge runs almost entirely off-grid, powered by solar and battery systems and supplied by rainwater and an aquifer, while works by island and South Australian artists fill the interiors. Stays are all-inclusive, with menus built around local growers and fishermen, an open bar, signature island experiences, a spa and transfers included.
Kamalame Cay, The Bahamas
HotelCaribbean
From $680
Kamalame Cay is a family-owned private island resort on a 96-acre cay off North Andros, the largest and least developed island in the Bahamas, reached by a short flight from Nassau and a five-minute boat ride. Around twenty cottages, suites and villas are scattered along three miles of private beach, with beamed ceilings, nautical details and terraces facing the sea. The stay is all-inclusive, with farm-to-table meals at the Great House, drinks and most activities included, from snorkeling and diving on the Andros Barrier Reef to bonefishing, tennis and bike rides across the island. Treatments are held at the only overwater spa in the Bahamas, and Blue Holes National Park lies just across the creek.
Como Parrot Bay
VillaCaribbean
From $1,300
COMO Parrot Cay is a resort on a private island in the Turks and Caicos, reached by boat from Providenciales. The island was wild and uninhabited before the resort was built, and it now has whitewashed villas and rooms facing a long stretch of private beach. Wellness is at the center of the stay: the COMO Shambhala spa offers holistic treatments, and yoga and Pilates classes are free for guests. Days move between the two outdoor pools, the beach, bike rides around the island and boat trips from the marina. Breakfast is included, and the restaurants focus on fresh, healthy cooking. Some of the private estates on the island, owned by well-known names, can also be rented with butler service.
Kokomo Private Island
HotelOceania, Fiji
From $2,000
Kokomo Private Island sits within the Great Astrolabe Reef in Fiji's Kadavu region, a 45-minute seaplane or helicopter flight south of the mainland. Its beachfront villas and hilltop residences are spread along white sand beaches, each with a private pool on a wide deck, open-air bathrooms and gardens leading down to the sand. Most of what is served at the island's restaurants comes from its own 5.5-acre organic farm, which also has a beehive, a henhouse and a vanilla plantation. The reef around the island is one of the best places in the world for diving and snorkelling, and the resort supports manta ray conservation and coral restoration. Days can also include deep-sea fishing, a hike to a waterfall on a nearby island, or a treatment at the Yaukuve Spa Sanctuary.
The Brando
HotelOceania, French Polynesia
From $3,700
The Brando is a resort on Tetiaroa, an atoll of a dozen small islands around a wide lagoon, about 50 kilometres north of Tahiti. The island was once a retreat for Tahitian royalty, and later the private sanctuary of Marlon Brando, who bought it in the 1960s after filming Mutiny on the Bounty nearby. Its 35 villas are spread along white sand beaches, each with its own plunge pool and simple Polynesian-inspired interiors, hidden from one another among the palms. The resort runs on renewable energy and cools its rooms with deep seawater instead of conventional air conditioning. Days can include snorkelling with manta rays, cycling across the island, guided visits with the research station that studies the atoll, or a daily spa treatment in the all-inclusive package. Guests arrive by private plane, a 20-minute flight from Papeete.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
HotelNorth America, United States
From $2,200
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay sits on a hillside on Kauaʻi's North Shore, looking over Hanalei Bay toward the green cliffs of the Nā Pali Coast. The hotel was rebuilt with sustainability at its core, with interiors in neutral tones, teak ceilings, rope and reed furniture and native plants throughout. Unlike most resorts in the area, it has its own access to the beach on the bay. Meals at its restaurants and bars are built on local produce, much of it from the hotel's organic garden and nearby farms. Two saltwater pools, a Bamford wellness spa and a kids' club round out the stay, and horse riding, sailing and helicopter tours are all close at hand.
Amanpuri
HotelAsia, Thailand
From $1,050
Amanpuri opened in 1988 on a forested headland on Phuket's west coast, and it was the first resort Aman ever built. Its name means "place of peace" in Sanskrit. Pavilions with temple-style roofs and polished wood interiors are spread through a coconut grove, linked by walkways, lily ponds and gardens, while the larger villas come with their own pools and staff. At the center is a 27-metre infinity pool tiled in deep blue, set above Pansea Beach, a private crescent of white sand.
